Rape is considered by many to be
an invisible crime. Many survivors find that when they do try to 'break
the silence' they are discouraged or ignored.

"Other people's
embarrassment or discomfort makes me feel as if I were the rapist's
co-criminal, an accomplice who is 'confessing' something ... everyone
keeps saying I need to 'come to terms' 'integrate' the rape into my
life. [How] can I come to terms if the terms are not shared?"
(pp. 212-213). (Raine, 1998)

"Very soon after she
was raped, Raine discovers that talking about the rape--even to her
closest friends and family--was "dangerous." Throughout the
book, Raine describes how she negotiates the mine-field of others' resistance,
and she reflects on how their resistance impacted her. This focus allows
for a deep and insightful appreciation of how our cultural myths about
women and rape work to marginalize survivors' speech and, as a result,
dramatically impede the healing process." Cosgrove,
Lisa PhD

Rape survivors are members of an
invisible
community in today's society. This community
exists largely on the internet in the form of message boards and support
groups. That may be because of the anonymity granted by the internet as
well as the increased opportunity for certain types of intimate communication.
“The greater tendency toward closeness and openness online has led
to a redefinition of the nature of shame.” (Ben- Ze'ev 2003)
The anonymity of cyberspace has let people safe guard their privacy
while allowing increased emotional closeness.

Rape
is an invisible crime"Victims of rape often face
insurmountable obstacles in trying to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Many women who have suffered rape or other forms of abuse are too intimidated
by cultural attitudes and state inaction to seek redress. To do so can
lead to hostility from family, the community and the police, with little
hope of success. Those who do seek justice are confronted by a system
that ignores, denies and even condones violence against women, and protects
perpetrators, whether they are state officials or private individuals."

Sexual
violence, an 'invisible war crime'"Early in their efforts, however, commission investigators
found that gathering information specifically about sexual violence was
not easy. In Sierra Leone, as in many other countries, women and girls
confront social taboos against speaking publicly about rape and other
sexual violence. They are stigmatized in their own communities when they
admit they have been sexually abused."

Sexual
violence has been an invisible war crime
in a wide variety of contemporary conflicts and mass atrocities; inclusion
of gender violence in the post-conflict world of international justice
can help to condemn these horrors and to make the perpetrators accountable
for the particularly brutal violence perpetrated against women in wartime.

"When I think
of disability hate crimes I am reminded of the song “Mister Cellophane”
from the musical Chicago. Disability hate crimes could be regarded as
‘cellophane crimes’: people walk right through them, look
right through them, and never know they are there. In Somerville, Massachusetts
on October 24th, 2 deaf girls were raped by gang members. One of these
girls had cerebral palsy. A few weeks later then on Saturday 9th of November,
another deaf girl was raped, again by gang members. Again, this week,
another deaf woman was raped in the Boston area. While I don’t wish
to examine any of these cases in particular, I want to raise the question:
when the circumstances indicate that such crimes may be neither random
nor circumstantial, why has no one suggested these may be hate crimes?
"

Abstract: Discusses the lack of
attention given by helping professionals (police, welfare, and legal systems)
to the sexual assault of adults who are intellectually disabled. Assaults
by agency personnel, caretakers, and family members have been documented.
Vulnerabilities to sexual assault for people with intellectual disability
include false assumptions by the general public, restricted social lives,
and limited communication access and skills. A state sexual assault committee
in Australia revealed lack of awareness by government departments and
disability organizations of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities
who experienced sexual assault. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA,
all rights reserved)

Abstract:(from the cover) One in
four girls will experience sexual abuse by the time she is sixteen, and
48 percent of all rapes involve a young woman under the age of eighteen.
It's not surprising then, that in a society where sexual abuse of young
women is rampant, many women never share their stories. They remain hidden
and invisible. In her pioneering work with young survivors through the
last twenty-five years, Dr. Patti Feuereisen has helped teen girls and
young women to find their voices, begin healing, and become visible. Invisible
Girls not only tells the truth about sexual abuse, it also heals. Dr.
Patti's gentle guidance and the girls' powerful stories create an encouraging
message: Remarkable healing is possible if girls learn to share their
stories in their teens and early twenties. (PsycINFO Database Record (c)
2005 APA, all rights reserved)

Abstract: The 20th century witnessed
rape being used as a weapon of war more consciously as a means to demoralize
and destroy the enemy. Although military tribunals were established to
enforce accountability to those responsible for the heinous crimes committed
during such conflicts, rape has continued to remain invisible as a war
crime and hence is rarely sanctioned. This article explores the psychological
aspects of conceiving a child from rape, using testimonies from clients
of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, London,
UK. The deficiencies in international law in addressing this issue is
also being highlighted. Described as the silent and hidden emotion, shame
is perhaps one of the most pervasive reactions to conceiving a child from
rape. Part of the reasoning behind the fear of disclosing a pregnancy
resultant from rape is the stigma of rape that compounds external shame.
The distinctiveness of the emotional effect of pregnancy from rape exemplifies
the need to address sex crimes as violations of basic human rights. (PsycINFO
Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)

Abstract: Reviews Invisible Girls:
The Truth About Sexual Abuse, by Patti Feuereisen (with Caroline Pincus;
see record 2005-07733-000). This text is a self-help book for victims
of incest, date rape, acquaintance abuse, and mentor abuse. The book itself
includes accounts by victims accompanied by psychological overviews. Overall,
these retellings are powerful aids in debunking myths about who gets abused,
why these abuses go unreported, and the nonconsensual nature of the encounters
whether or not the girl appears to protest her participation. A particular
strength of the book is that the author is concrete in defining what constitutes
abuse and in absolving the victim of any culpability in the abuse. Feuereisen
is so specific and emphatic in her cataloguing, a girl would have trouble
denying the things done to her were anything other than heinous. Further,
the fine list of resources at the end of the book is an important addition.
I do quibble with certain assumptions in the book, with certain statements,
and with the absence of more extensive explanation of the consequences
of certain chronic abuse, which would make the book more useful to abuse
victims. However, I salute the author's effort to introduce psychological
concepts in comprehensible prose. She touches on some sophisticated ideas
in an easily understood way. Although I might prefer a book that is less
pat, I think this is a valuable information source for those who have
been sexually abused and for those who care about them. (PsycINFO Database
Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)

Abstract:Despite the research emphasis
on depression among women, there has been virtually no focus on depression
among lesbians. This article reviews evidence for factors that might place
lesbians at increased risk for depression as well as factors that would
protect lesbians from depression. Additionally, it discusses the research
on suicide attempts, alcoholism, and physical and sexual abuse of lesbians,
all disorders related to depression. Homophobia, the coming out process,
and the lesbian community are presented as issues not faced by heterosexual
women. Depression among lesbians who are non-white, not middle class,
and not young adults is discussed. Finally, the article presents evidence
for the role of therapists and self-help groups in affecting depression
rates among lesbians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fox, K., (2001) To tell or not
to tell: Social factors that shape the telling experiences of survivors
of child sexual abuse. ; Dissertation Abstracts International Section
A: Humanities and Social Sciences, Vol 61(7-A), 2936.
Database: PsycINFO

Abstract: Most research on child
sexual abuse is conducted with limited subject groups and relies on a
psychological theoretical framework. Absent from the research literature
is an understanding of the complex social processes involved in the experiences
of survivors of child sexual abuse. Accordingly, I use a research approach
that starts with the lived experiences of survivors as a basis for understanding
abuse and that considers child sexual abuse as a part of several interlocking
systems of oppressions, e.g., racism, heterosexism. The qualitative research
method of in-depth, open ended interviews was used for this study with
27 survivors of child sexual abuse (15 European Americans and 12 African
Americans) with varying socioeconomic classes and sexual orientations.
The research methodology is located in the interactionist, qualitative
traditions that view the subjective meanings of informants and researchers
as important components in understanding the social world. Informants
were often silenced in childhood. Whether or not they told, to whom and
what they told, and with what response can be understood in a context
of social identity, social contingencies, and psychological discourses
on abuse. Some informants resisted the abuse in childhood and developed
strategies for coping, resisting, and shaping contact with offenders as
well as telling about their abuse. The telling experiences of informants
are on-going processes that are shaped by dominant, psychological constructions
of "survivorship" that contribute to resilencing some informants
as well as by social identity and social contingencies. Talk about abuse
has provided many adult survivors with the opportunity to heal and to
feel better about themselves. But the dominant focus on psychological,
individual approaches to abuse has hindered long-term change that might
effectively stop the sexual abuse of children. Public talk about abuse
has been, for the most part, adult talk. And adult, public talk has mostly
been healing talk so that survivors can move on with their lives. Unfortunately,
children are still constrained by a social system that perpetuates child
sexual abuse, and child talk about abuse is mostly invisible. New types
of abuse talk are needed to promote a public focus on abused children.
(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)

Yungman, J., Hegar, R., (1986) Seeing the invisible: What social workers
can do about sexual abuse. Social Work in Education, Vol 8(2), 107-120.
Database: PsycINFO

Abstract: Discusses behavioral
and physical indicators of sexual abuse, noting special difficulties in
recognizing male victims, and explores issues surrounding the primary
prevention of sexual abuse. It is suggested that principles for interviewing
possible victims reflect general methods of nondirective social work with
children. A multilevel school curriculum, with a possible central role
for social workers, is suggested with emphasis on the achievement of 3
major goals: increasing awareness, decreasing vulnerability, and promoting
disclosure. School social workers may serve as intermediaries between
the school and other social institutions for children identified as sexually
abused. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)

"According to author Katie
Roiphe, acquaintance rape is just a term radical feminists use to describe
a night that you regret. She made this argument in a New York Times op-ed
in 1991, and made it again in a New York Times Magazine cover story (6/13/93),
labeled 'Rape Hype.'"

"Rappaport (1995) argued that
listening to the stories of people's lives should be an important goal
of community psychology. Through analysis of these narratives, researchers
can gain new insights into community phenomenon. Perhaps in a similar
manner, the narratives of the researchers themselves may shed some light
on the process of how research is actually conducted and constructed.
In the story of the UIC Women & Violence Project, our narrative focuses
on how we identified, recruited, and interviewed a community-based sample
of rape survivors. The stage of designing a sampling plan is often overlooked
and undiscussed, but in our project, this task raised practical and conceptual
problems unlike those we had ever encountered in prior work. How were
we going to find rape survivors? Who was "the community" with
whom we wanted to work? And, once we found these rape survivors, how could
we create a safe space for them to tell their stories? Wrestling with
these questions prompted us to reinterpret classic ideas of communities,
settings, and the purpose of community-based research."

"One in four girls will experience
sexual abuse by the time she is 16, and 48% of all rapes involve a young
woman under the age of eighteen. In her pioneering work with young survivors
through the last 25 years, Dr. Patti Feuereisen has helped teen girls
and young women find their voices, begin healing, and become visible.
This remarkable book not only tells the truth about sexual abuse, it also
heals. Dr. Patti's gentle guidance and the girls' powerful stories create
an encouraging message: Remarkable healing is possible if girls learn
to share their stories in their teens and early twenties."

Another invisible group is women
with disabilities: "We have struggled together with the confusing
reality of being
both invisible and hyper-visible on other people's terms. We grapple
with the tension between the invisible and the visible. As this process
has evolved we have been interested in using art as a positive form of
self-expression and as a tool for a liberating means of communication."

"Women
with disabilities are often targeted for sexual violence. This violence
is often made invisible by society's false assumptions that rape is about sex
and that women with disabilities are asexual."

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